Germain's Balkan Sobranie

I smoked a lot of this in the early 1970's and loved it. I have not tried the new iteration but if it satisfies the smoker then that should be enough. I read a lot about the hand wringing over blends that are not like the originals. Given the decades that have passed no blend can be the same. I judge by what's in the tin now.

But how do you really feel about it?     

I guess I'm not all that clear what distinguishes a Balkan blend from an Oriental-forward English blend, or if it's the same thing or what.  So I don't even have expectations of what a Balkan blend is supposed to be like, and I'm really just comparing to other Germain offerings.  I'd put it in the same category as Margate, too.

It's way unbalanced; too mild on the Latakia, unnaturally sour notes coming from the grades of Oriental leaf in the tin that I have. A Balkan is an Oriental forward English mixture but are still usually quite smoky and balanced. Many others like JimInks see it as pretty unbalanced as well. On it's own compared to nothing but being a blend with Oriental and Latakia in the mixture, it's just unbalanced and off. This doesn't mean some people can't like it. It gets more polarized by the fact that something like Balkan Sasieni for $7 a tin is so much better and people are asking exorbitant prices like $30-40 a tin for this stuff. 

For what it's worth the original was not that great in my book, either. It's pretty hyped. Smoke what you like.

I like Sasieni well enough, but there's a Germain-ness to Sobranie that sets it apart for me.  I don't know if it's a subtle topping, the cut, or what.  

Curious if you like other Germain English/Oriental blends, like Margate, 1820, & King Charles?

I smoked Balkan Sobranie back in the '70's and '80's and like it quite a lot. Then I quit smoking anything for awhile and came back to it in the early '90's. When Germain's reissued it I bought a sleeve and popped a tin. I was really disappointed with it. The blend just didn't taste like what I'd smoked. WhiteKnight is closer to the old blend than Germain's reissue. Germain's may have the recipe, but that doesn't guarantee a match, considering the availability of components. And they may not be following it. Besides, as psycholine said, the blend went through a few changes over the years. I've been told, anecdotally, that Germain's has adjusted the product since that initial release, due to some of the negative response, but I don't know that for a fact. 

With WhiteKnight Russ certainly caught the blend's flavors by not relying on a recipe, but rather on the end flavor profile.

Thing is, it doesn't really matter if the new version is faithful to the old one as long as you enjoy smoking it on its own merits.  I just wish people wouldn't gouge others for it, but that's a different issue.


God bless Irma Bombeck wherever she is.

Balkan Sobraine was changed twice in the 1980s, and at least once in the 1990s. The early 2000s version I smoked was a touch lighter than the '90s version. When I tried the current manufacture, I notice several changes, and I thought all of them were for the worse.

WhiteKnight is based on Russ Ouellette's remembrance of Balkan Sobraine in the 1970s, and having smoked both, I can say he absolutely hit the nail on the head.

I just don't like the idea of it. Between JFG, Esoterica, SH and Butera, Germain has not been able to meet demand for damn near a decade. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to add another blend to the list of stuff that's a pain in the arse to get?

The fact that years before they even considered recreating BS, they couldn't fulfill demand for any of their line.
Maybe it's just me, but I never thought JFG would get caught up in the game.

I remember hounding Premal about KK back in '08. Everything else was pretty easy to get but KK was tough. He pretty much threw up his hands and said "I have no idea when we'll be getting more."
Again, might just be me, but I would have liked to see the rest of the blends available with some consistency before they tackled something new.

Exactly so.  Germain's can't, or won't, service the range of blends that have been entrusted to them.  Before 2006, buying any Esoterica product was pretty simple.  You just walked into a B&M that carried it and bought some.  There was no frenzied pursuit of any of them.  Then Germain's stopped regular shipments and when the next batch showed up. months late, the frenzy was on, and it hasn't stopped.  Krumble Kake is extinct.  Even if Germain's suddenly sent out a shipment after all these years, it would amount to a reissue rather than a continuance.
Germain's is a small boutique producer.  They would be doing everyone a favor by recognizing this and slimming down their product range to something that they can manage.  Either that, or expand their operation to be able to handle their commitments.

Cool. I totally get what both y'all are saying. I agree as well either slimming down the product range or expansion to increase product availability would be generally beneficial for the consumer; nevertheless, their current business model may indicate to them neither of these options would maximize return on investment in which case their current path may be correct if superior in this regard. Given current global demand for their product, it's entirely possible they've calculated now is exactly the proper time for their chosen path in order to maximize profits.

Perhaps this represents a miscalculation on their part which negatively affects their bottom line? The rationale for their current actions could also be sound in which case it would be difficult to fault Germain's for acting in any other manner even if we can't go down to the B&M and pick up a tin whenever we choose anymore. Time and hard data will be necessary prior to drawing either of these conclusions. 
 

It's a very good blend, but it isn't a faithful copy of Balkan Sobraine 759, even though it finished second in the recreation contest a few years back. Black House is fairly close, and in some ways, Sutliff's Luxury Balkan Blend 957 was as well.

I don't see how Germain's benefits with their current scenario.  The higher prices are the result of retailers charging more, not an increased price by Germain's.  When Smokingpipes or Mars sells Esoterica, the price is considerably less than $30.  So at the wholesale and distribution end, the prices clearly haven't risen much in the past 10 years.  Germain's isn't benefiting from the increased prices, retailers are.  If Germain's put out more product their bottom line would increase.

I don't disagree with your rationale; however, JFG has been around a while and if it were that easy to connect the dots they'd probably follow that course of action. I still suspect their actions are related to their business model and possibly involves taking care of their best customers which are likely not Americans, much less those looking for an occasional tin at the local B&M. They have the hard data.  

or option three. Don't buy any Germain's blends and forget about them. I just don't care to ever get them myself. I don't buy into the hype. Stonehaven was pretty good, Kingsbridge was really mild and not for me, and Penzance was pretty good. Have never had the rest and never will worry about seeking them out. There's just too much tobacco out there for me to worry about it anymore. 

As far as your comment on the rumor of the reformulation; no idea personally, I just know that I've had one tin of the Germain's release since it's re release and I can't barely smoke it. I have a bowl or two a year to go back and give it a try. Oh well. I don't worry about it.